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Goofy's Sky School
Goofy's Sky School is a steel wild mouse roller coaster at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in California. It opened on July 1, 2011. The rethemed attraction opened on July 1, 2011 called Mulholland Madness. Summary Goofy's Sky School is a wild mouse roller coaster manufactured by Mack Rides. Walt Disney Imagineering have designed the theme for the ride based upon Disney's animated cartoon "Goofy's Glider". Riders board a plane and navigate a crash course of flying which features sharp turns, steep drops and sudden stops. Goofy is pictured on billboards throughout the ride teaching guests the step-by-step process of flying a plane. Unlike the other coasters at Disneyland Resort, there are no gates on the loading platform. History Goofy's Sky School originally opened on February 8, 2001, as Mulholland Madness. The attraction's original name came from the famed Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles, California, named after the famed engineer William Mulholland. Within the first month of its operation, three accidents occurred on the ride causing it to be shut for a short period of time for repairs. The ride vehicles were themed to the many cars one can find on the Southern California freeway systems, (such as Highway Patrol cars or Classic Surfer "Woodies"). At the end of the ride, a sign on the wall above read "Rental Car Return". On October 12, 2010, Mulholland Madness closed for refurbishment and re-theming as part of Disney California Adventure Park's major refurbishment. On July 1, 2011, the attraction reopened as Goofy's Sky School. The attraction's re-opening is the latest in a series of moves to attempt to introduce classic Disney characters into Paradise Pier. It has been reported that Goofy's Sky School will be the location of a future E ticket ride. The original Mulholland Madness ride was often criticized for being an "off-the-shelf", carnival-style ride with a weak theme. Brady MacDonald of the Los Angeles Times describes the re-themed Goofy's Sky School ride as "little more than a Band-Aid meant to hide an unseemly scar that earned the Anaheim theme park its on-the-cheap reputation". He goes on to say that an "ordinary Wild Mouse coaster doesn't belong in a Disney park and is an embarrassment" when compared with other Disney coasters such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain and the Matterhorn Bobsleds. He concluded by stating that "the ride should have been removed rather than remade". In response to the Los Angeles Times' critical review, Screamscape's Lance Hart points out that several other rides (such as Gadget's Go Coaster, Silly Symphony Swings, Jumpin' Jellyfish and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith) are also off-the-shelf and are seen at many other parks around the world. He states that "off-the-shelf rides systems are fairly hard to avoid these days. Sometimes you can dress up a ride system to look different and unique… sometimes you can’t". Lance Hart concludes by saying that "a good wild mouse coaster would be in my top 3 must-have attractions" for a boardwalk style park such as Paradise Pier. Like Screamscape, others have been less critical of the updated ride. Several have stated that the ride is better than its predecessor and that it better suits the theme of a Disney theme park. Category:Attractions in Disney California Adventure Category:Disney California Adventure Category:Roller coasters